U.N. sees progress in talks to free up Ukraine grain exports
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the first meeting in weeks between Russia and Ukraine took “a critical step forward” to ensure the export of desperately needed grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to help ease the global food crisis.
The U.N. chief said “more technical work will now be needed” to reach an agreement, “but the momentum is clear . I’m encouraged, but it’s not yet fully done.”
Guterres spoke in New York, hours after military officials from Russia, Ukraine and Turkey met with U.N. envoys in Istanbul to discuss unblocking millions of tons of grain — stuck in Ukraine because of the war — to be shipped to world markets and to enable Russia to send out grain and fertilizer.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the sides reached agreement concerning the “joint control” of vessels as they leave and arrive at ports and the safety of the transfer routes. A coordination center would be established in Istanbul and would include U.N., Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian officials, he said.
The parties would meet again in Turkey next week where details would be reviewed and agreements would be signed, he said.
Akar said the talks were held in a constructive atmosphere, adding: “We see that the parties are willing to solve this problem.”
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country’s delegation at the talks had informed him that they were making progress.
He said he was grateful to the United Nations and Turkey for their efforts to restore Ukraine’s agricultural exports. “If they succeed in removing the Russian threat to shipping in the Black Sea, it will reduce the severity of the global food crisis,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
The secretary-general has been pressing since early June for a package deal that will enable Ukraine to export grain and other food, not only by land but from blockaded Black Sea ports, and allow Russian food and fertilizer to enter world markets without restrictions.
“Today in Istanbul, we have seen a critical step, a step forward to ensuring the safe and secure export of Ukrainian food products through the Black Sea,” Guterres said.
He called it “a ray of hope to ease human suffering and alleviate hunger around the world.”
The war has trapped about 22 million tons of grain inside Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s president. U.N., Turkish and other officials are scrambling for a solution that would empty the silos in time for upcoming harvest in Ukraine. Some grain is transported through Europe by rail, road and river.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but Russia’s invasion and war has disrupted production and halted shipments across the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.